Look beyond numbers, Rahman tells participants

Renowned music director and composer Igelese Ete leads participants at the 47th Fiji Institute of Accountants Congress in an icebreaker at Shangri-La's Fijian Resort and Spa yesterday. Picture FELIX CHAUDHARY

PARTICIPANTS at the 47th Fiji Institute of Accountants Congress in progress at Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort have lauded the two-day program, saying the issues highlighted — leadership, humanity and the environment — were critical for accountants to address.

“These are topical areas that are also important to an accountant, in addition to dealing with just numbers,” he said.

“Accountants are often seen to be people who just talk about profits, revenue and expenses but the very essence of generating that revenue and expenses is inextricably linked to human capital and the environment.

“And this year’s program had very intense discussions on how to protect the environment.

“We also talked about issues on leadership and Generation Z — which is people born after the millennium.

“We are talking about a very young workforce in Fiji and it is incumbent on leaders today to blend in or introduce strategies so there is increased productivity in the workplace.”

Mr Rahman added that the theme of the conference “Prioritising humanity” was also something that accountants needed to address. “One of the important features, I learnt today was the importance of embracing culture.

“I think culture needs to be recognised because cultural diversity has a huge impact on oragnisational performance because basically organisations are about people.

“And the presentations made today have really showed us the benefits that can be generated by celebrating and acknowledging diversity. Everybody comes from different cultures and in the workplace environment and even national development these are very important topics that accountants should discuss more often.”